Watch as we join Merseyside Police as their battle against Knife Crime continues

This week Merseyside Police are taking part in a national week of action to publicly demonstrate the work they are doing and to ask for your help in sharing important messages and having conversations with those most at risk from knifecrime.

During this week you may see Merseyside Police carrying out stop searches, open land searches and weapon sweeps or see knife amnesty bins in police stations. You may even spot high visibility patrols using knife arches or wands at key times in busy locations or see officers linking in with door-staff and licensed premises.

Work will continue at schools and colleges, with diversionary activities and social media campaigns aimed at children and young people.

Inspector Andy Creer said: “A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to address the issue of knifecrime and what can be done about it but one of the most important tools we have is education. Most people probably don’t realise that carrying a knife can make a young person up to 60% more likely to become a victim of knifecrime themselves.

“Nobody wants to be a statistic and I want to appeal directly to parents and guardians – talk to your children about knifecrime, educate them of the dangers and help us to make it socially unacceptable for ANYONE to carry a knife when they go out.

“Anyone who chooses to pick up a knife could be throwing away their lives and destroying the lives of others. Merseyside has seen at first hand the tragedy of knifecrime and the effect it can have on the victims, the knifecrime offenders and the families left behind. Nobody wants that knock on the door from the police so please, have that conversation with your loved ones.

“I want to reassure our communities that we will continue our work day in and day out and we are committed to getting rid of the problem of knifecrime by working closely with our partners to help prevent and disrupt criminal activity.

“We will also continue to act on information reported to us through local policing teams or community leaders.
“But this is not a problem that Merseyside Police can tackle alone and we need everyone to be involved.

“If you know someone is carrying a knife then speak to us or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and help us to finally stamp out this problem.”

Please help spread the message social media using the hashtag #StopKnifeCrime and for more information you can head towww.knifefree.co.uk

There will also be a Twitter Q&A between 6pm and 7pm on Wednesday, 13th March, when police, local authority representatives and health professionals will be answering the public’s questions about knifecrime via @MerseyPolice